Fishbone to Play ‘Reupholstered’ SoFA Street Fair

After more than a decade’s absence the SoFA Street Fair is back. With more than 50 local, regional and national acts on three outdoor stages and a variety of other San Jose venues, the music and arts festival is set to return on Sept. 14.

Longtime community organizer and SoFa Street Fair co-creator Fil Maresca, is excited for the return of the festival, and not only because he anticipates it will be a blast. According to Maresca, the “reupholstered” SoFA Street Fair marks a “genuine rebirth” of the SoFA district. And that bodes well for the vitality of San Jose’s arts scene.

“There was a long time when SoFA was struggling,” Maresca says, noting there were lots of empty storefronts and vacant sidewalks. The South First Area Committee, a committee of the San Jose Downtown Association, dwindled.

But now, with the tech boom surging, Café Stritch booking diverse and interesting shows and South First Fridays drawing large crowds each month, “things have changed,” Maresca says. “There’s a there there now. SoFA is a destination now. It hasn’t been like that since the ’90s.”

The SoFA Street Fair will feature a wide variety of musical acts and other attractions. Los Angeles-based funk/punk band Fishbone will headline the fair. San Jose band Insolence will reunite with original bass player Paul Parry, and a bevy of other bands, artists and vendors will fill the streets.